Blumenherst Named Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year

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DURHAM, N.C. - Former Duke women's golf standout Amanda Blumenherst has been selected one of nine finalists for the NCAA Women of the Year Award. Blumenherst, who is a product of Scottsdale, Ariz., was a three-time National Player of the Year and four-time All-America selection with the Blue Devils.

Committee representatives from NCAA member institutions and conferences initially selected 30 semifinalists from a pool of 132 student-athletes from Divisions I, II and III before selecting nine finalists - three from each division. The award will be presented October 18 at the annual awards banquet at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind.

Blumenherst closed out her collegiate career as one of the best Division I women's golfers in NCAA history. She registered 12 victories, 78 rounds of even or under par, 37 top 10 finishes and 41 top 20 finishes in 44 tournaments. Blumenherst earned National Player of the Year and the Golfstat Cup her first three years becoming the first to do so three consecutive seasons. She was also a two-time winner of the Honda Award and the first three-time winner of the Nancy Lopez Award.

Other finalists include Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (LSU, gymnastics), Julia Hopson (Fredonia State, track and field), Dani Huffman (Emory, volleyball), Venessa Lee (Pittsburg State, cross country/track and field), Tracy Menzel (Kenyon, swimming and diving), Lacey Nymeyer (Arizona, swimming and diving), Ashley Puga (Northwest Nazarene, cross country/track and field), and Kathleen Tafler (Grand Valley State, soccer).

As a senior, Blumenherst compiled a 72.92 stroke average to go along with one victory, four top five finishes and five top 10 placements in 12 tournaments in 2008-09. She received All-America accolades for the fourth straight year marking the third player in school history to earn All-America credentials for four consecutive ledgers joining Liz Janangelo and Virada Nirapathpongporn.

The 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Champion, Blumenherst completed her Duke career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Blue Devil history.

As consistent as she was on the golf course, Blumenherst was even better in the classroom as she received a degree in history along with a minor in English and Theatre Studies in May, while compiling a 3.825 grade-point average over her career. In her final semester at Duke, Blumenherst collected a 4.0 grade-point average.

As a senior, Blumenherst won the Dinah Shore Trophy Award for the second straight year, which is presented to the NCAA Division I golfer who has an overall grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, played in at least 50.0 percent of her team's scheduled events, maintained a scoring average of 78.0 or less and demonstrated leadership skills and/or extraordinary community affairs work. She became the first ever repeat winner of the award.

Blumenherst is also a four-time ACC Honor Roll selection, four-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree and three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America, four-time NGCA Scholar All-America and was the 2008 and 2009 ACC Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

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Blumenherst Named Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year

Players Mentioned

Amanda Blumenherst

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Blumenherst Named Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year

Players Mentioned

Amanda Blumenherst

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Duke information